how speaker john boehner said he was flabbergasted. mitch mcconnell reportedly laughed out loud and in this debate over reducing the debt, the president is pushing for an additional $255 billion in spending. he wants those higher taxes to spend more, which is leading to some criticism. joining me now is brad blakeman, the former deputy to george w. bush. and chairman of the south carolina democratic party. a deal that is all about the republicans desire to cut back on the debt and deficit -- why would the president be proposing $255 billion in war spending? >> well, he's not. what he is proposing is shifting spending priorities. after those cuts, shifting priorities, and by the way -- this is infrastructure development. this is to make sure that people who have gone the payroll tax relief keep that payroll tax relief and expanding unemployment benefits. i will say this. this is the president's initial proposal. the silence from the republicans is deafening. they can counter this. but all they have done is whine and weep and cry and lau